Home > Feature

Maghalie Rochette heads to nationals confident but knows there will be big competition for the title

Reflects on mountain bike season and friendship with her teammate Catharine Pendrel

Live coverage: 2016 Canadian cyclocross championships – elite women and elite men

img_3697
Maghalie Rochette of Clif Pro Team presented by Luna had a good weekend at CincyCX the weekend before the Canadian cyclocross championships. The top Canadian placing fourth in both Saturday’s Pan American championships race and Sunday at KingsCX, Rochette bounced back from a difficult start to her season. Suffering heat exhaustion at her first cyclocross race of the year in Rochester after having led early, Rochette was unable to finish her next race at Cross Vegas or start at Jingle Cross.

RELATED: Ruby West fully focused on ‘cross as national title defense looms

With that setback behind her, she now hopes to perform at one of the most prestigious races of the season with the opportunity to wear the maple leaf jersey for the coming year on the line. During the summer with her Clif Pro Team, Rochette focused on North American races in her first year at the elite level giving her more time to train and recover.

img_3715
Rochette finished third overall at the weekends CincyCX

“I think having not traveled as much helped me for the ‘cross season,” explained Rochette. “I am fresh and mentally excited, usually by November I am a little tired because of all the racing and travel. My mountain bike season was kind of up and down. I had some really good races and some really bad races. I wasn’t completely thrilled but it was my first year in the elite category.

RELATED: Jérémy Martin is stoked for ‘cross nationals after stellar season up-to-date

On Clif Bar, Rochette has the good fortune of racing with one of Canada’s top cyclists in Catharine Pendrel who earned an Olympic bronze medal in Rio. “Pendrel is kind of the one who got me on the Luna team [now Clif Bar]. I met her in 2013 at worlds in South Africa. We became friends pretty quickly and the team was looking for a young rider so I met the team manager and I guess it was a just fit, our personalities were compatible.

img_3712
“Catherine is an impressive athlete, she is a great teammate, so focused mentally, knowledgeable and passionate about bike racing,” Rochette explained about her relationship with the two-time world champion. “She loves to share her passion with everyone and anyone who is willing to learn.”

Though her mountain bike season was a mixed bag of results Rochette heads to Sherbrooke confident she will put in a good challenge for the elite women’s title on Nov. 5. “It’s a pretty important race for me. I think nationals is a pretty big deal for everyone,” she said. “If you win it you get to have the maple leaf on your back the whole year. It would be a real honour to wear the jersey. I am hoping to have a clean race and a good performance. I am heading there confident but I know there will be big competition. You can’t count anybody out at nationals”

Follow Canadian Cycling Magazine‘s live coverage of the Canadian cyclocross national championships from Sherbrooke, Que. on November 5.